Retired Justice O'Neill was almost arrested at VA Medical Center to give speech.

[FarPoint]

Ret. Justice Bill O'Neill is also an RN, lawyer and I believe Captain Retired from Military....and a Democrat.

He is also running for Congress now ....


Released to Media this morning. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Former Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill was confronted by VA Police as he arrived to speak at a Peace Vigil in Cleveland Sunday evening. "They surrounded my car with blue lights flashing, demanded identification and asked for the name and social security number of the patient I was going to visit after the vigil."
When informed that the Justice was the speaker at the Peace vigil, the first office told him his car would be towed and then called for back up.
"My son and I are patients at the VA and I would estimate i have used that parking garage 100 times. Yesterday was different, and quite frankly I was intimidated by people with guns confronting me in a public building"
The Justice left the garage, parked on a snowy unplowed side street, and went on to address the crowd of 500 peaceful vigil marchers, and went home safely.
This is America? This is where we have come to?
A retired Justice, arriving to address a peaceful crowd, is surrounded by two police cars with blue lights flashing, and asked for his identification?

[biophile]

1. Yes this is America

Sad but true.

[FarPoint]

2. I got to be friends with Bill thru Ohio Nursing...

I too am an RN active with nursing issues....

[Srkdqltr]

3. Story is very incomplete. Why?

[FarPoint]

4. He shared this himself...

not a newpaper article...

[Joinfortmill]

10. Seemed pretty clear to me.

[Srkdqltr]

5. The reason could be anything from bad tempered cops to the Garage was full and he wasn't supposed to go in that way.

If he is going to share, share all.

Maybe he was wrong and argued? Maybe he was targeted?

[FarPoint]

6. I find it adequate information....

I understand his point .... He did share in the report I provided that he uses the VA parking lot all the time., he is a nurse and retired military officer......Same for his son who was severely injured in Afghanistan...

To be honest, 90% of all articles and posts provided here have much less information...

[xocetaceans]

13. Why object to being complete and offering documentation that what is posted is not merely an AI fabrication?

If DU is to be a valuable source of news and information, littering it with unsourced assertions is not very useful. There is no trivially easy way to verify what your anecdote says. That is, it takes time to try to verify the event's occurrence.

That being said, here is some of that verification:

There was a vigil, and O'Neill was there.

Vigil outside Cleveland VA hospital honors Alex Pretti, ICU nurse killed by federal agents in Minnesota
Dozens gathered Sunday night in front of the Cleveland VA Medical Center to honor Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis VA nurse fatally shot by federal agents last weekend.

Author: Natalie Clydesdale
Published: 12:27 AM EST February 2, 2026
Updated: 12:27 AM EST February 2, 2026

CLEVELAND — Dozens gathered outside the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center on Sunday night for a vigil to honor Alex Pretti.

Last weekend, Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis following a heated confrontation between authorities and protesters.

...

“There’s something very special about an ICU nurse. They get the worst of the worst and they hold onto them as long as they can,” said Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill.

...

“We will not stop until there’s justice,” said O’Neill.

...

https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/cleveland-va-hospital-vigil-honors-alex-pretti-icu-nurse-killed-federal-agents-minnesota/95-b6c0bc83-8176-47dd-a477-c095f6cf158e

Beyond that, there are also parking rules, it would seem. Maybe, those rules were misapplied by the VA police or misunderstood by O'Neill. (Who knows?)

Parking

Cost: Free

All Veterans, visitors, or others with VA business may use the parking garage located directly across the street from the main facility. Parking at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center is free for all Veterans, visitors, and staff. Parking on VA grounds is restricted to patients, their family members, and visitors.

Handicap Parking: Handicap parking spaces are clearly marked by a standard sign indicating that they are reserved for those vehicles with either a VA handicap hangtag or the appropriate handicap placard or license plate assigned by the State of Ohio. If you have a handicap license plate or hand tag from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, you are allowed to park in the spaces reserved for handicap persons here at the medical center.

Wheelchair availability: Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center campus has wheelchairs upon arrival for patients who need them to access the building.

https://www.va.gov/northeast-ohio-health-care/locations/louis-stokes-cleveland-department-of-veterans-affairs-medical-center/#location-and-contact-information

What is the truth of the situation? Was this intended interference with the vigil? Or was it merely an enforcement of the parking rules?

It is impossible to tell from what is posted in the OP whether the situation was significant or not. In the age of dash-cam video, that certainly would have been useful to have had to back up the import of this anecdote.

It would be nice if DU had a prominent tag which could be incorporated in an OP's title and which indicated that that OP is merely an unsourced anecdote and that the OP could be safely ignored.

[Beartracks]

7. Why would anyone know the SSN of a patient they might visit at a hospital?

[GiqueCee]

8. I suspect...

... that being unable to supply information that is unavailable might, in the cops' diseased minds, constitute a "FAILURE TO COMPLY", thus justifying deadly force. BANG! BANG!

[PatSeg]

12. I was wondering the same thing

What a bizarre request.

[Seinan Sensei]

15. "Last-name and last-four" is standard for Vets and active-duty

As in “last four of your Soc Security number”

STILL … VA Police Dept or any other PD would be out-of-bounds, given this scenario

Also, immediate family members often do not know a loved one’s last-four. But they would know a birthday, or an address, or a middle name. So police could have asked that, if this had been a serious inquiry.

Finally, even if you knew someone’s last-four, the police could not confirm it. Patrol Officers generally don’t have access to this information.

This encounter clearly does not pass the smell test.

[FarPoint]

17. Exactly....

excellent point.....

[Joinfortmill]

9. Scary times. Stay strong. Stay safe. Prepare to vote.

Demonstrate peacefully where and when you can. Speak out if you feel comfortable doing so. But, above all, stay safe.

We'll get through this. It's scary times, but the majority of Americans don't like what they are seeing.

[question everything]

11. Probably should add that he was an Ohio Justice

[rubbersole]

14. Intimidation, fear, lies and half-truths are all they have.

I hate that rigging elections is their only way to stay in power, but I certainly see why they're doing it. Stopping them is kinda our most important job.

[wolfie001]

16. tRUMP the nazi pigman

Smelly bastard